American Zoetrope
| defunct = | location_city = San Francisco, California | location_country = United States | key_people = Francis Ford Coppola George Lucas | industry = Motion pictures Television | products = | owner = Roman Coppola Sofia Coppola | homepage = }} American Zoetrope (also known as Zoetrope Studios from 1979 until 1990) is a privately run American film production company, centered in San Francisco, California and founded by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. Opened on December 12, 1969,Fog City Mavericks. Starz, Englewood, CO, USA. June 15, 2011. Television. the studio has produced not only the films of Coppola (including Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Tetro), but also George Lucas's pre-''Star Wars'' films (THX 1138, American Graffiti), as well as many others by avant-garde directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Wim Wenders and Godfrey Reggio. American Zoetrope was an early adopter of digital filmmaking, including some of the earliest uses of HDTV. Four films produced by American Zoetrope are included in the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films. American Zoetrope-produced films have received 15 Academy Awards and 68 nominations. ]] Formation Initially located in a warehouse on Folsom Street, the company's headquarters have since 1972 been in the historic Sentinel Building, at 916 Kearny Street in San Francisco's North Beach neighbourhood. Coppola named the studio after a zoetrope he was given in the late 1960s by the filmmaker and collector of early film devices, Mogens Skot-Hansen. "Zoetrope" is also the name by which Coppola's quarterly fiction magazine, Zoetrope: All-Story, is often known. American Zoetrope is now owned entirely by Coppola's son and daughter, directors Roman Coppola and Sofia Coppola.Coppola stated this in an interview with Harry Knowles for Ain't It Cool News published on May 8, 2007., while a majority of the film library is now owned by Lionsgate. Zoetrope Virtual Studio It also administers the Zoetrope Virtual Studio, a complete motion picture production studio for members only. Launched in June 2000 after more than four years work, it brings together departments for screenwriters, directors, producers and other filmmaker artists, plus new departments for other creative endeavours, offering e-collaborative tools. Filmmaker members can workshop a wide range of film arts, including music, graphics, design and film & video. Filmography Television series *''First Wave'' (1998-2001) *''Platinum (2003)https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/14/arts/television-review-dynasty-with-a-hip-hop-beat.html *''The 4400'' (2004-07) *''Mozart in the Jungle'' (2014-18) Cafe Zoetrope In the building lobby Coppola operates a small Italian café, Cafe Zoetrope, featuring Inglenook Estate wine and memorabilia from his films.Cafe Zoetrope The neighborhood is well known for its cafes and its writers. Coppola wrote much of the screenplay for The Godfather in the nearby Caffe Trieste and Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Books is located up Columbus Avenue from the Sentinel Building. References External links * Category:American companies established in 1969 Category:Film production companies of the United States Category:Film distributors of the United States Category:Entertainment companies based in California Category:Companies based in San Francisco Category:Cinema of the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Francis Ford Coppola Category:George Lucas Category:North Beach, San Francisco Category:Media companies established in 1969 Category:1969 establishments in California Category:Entertainment companies established in 1969